Tours

BMW Presents SC Teacher of the Year with Keys to a 2011 BMW X3

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - 04/28/2011

Patti Tate announced as 2011/2012 South Carolina Teacher of the Year

State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais announced Wednesday evening at a privately funded celebration, that Patti Tate, an English teacher at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, was named South Carolina Teacher of the Year. As part of the celebration, BMW Manufacturing, the event’s premier sponsor, handed Mrs. Tate the keys to a 2011 Space Gray BMW X3 xDrive28i.

“Patti is a master teacher dedicated to creating an environment of high expectations for student achievement,” Zais said. “Her teaching philosophy centers on guiding her students to become independent, life-long learners. She instills in her students a passion for learning and a passion for putting forth their best efforts. I believe she’ll make an excellent ambassador for our state and a great representative to the national program.”

Patti Tate was very humbled to receive the keys to the South Carolina-made BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle. As she stood by the vehicle, Patti thanked BMW for their continued support of the program and reflected, “I thank everyone that built this vehicle and I hope they all had a teacher that touched them in some way and made them want to become a more successful person.”

“BMW’s support of this program is central to our commitment to education across South Carolina. After meeting Patti Tate last evening, I am reminded of the mutual pride we share: BMW associates for the vehicles we manufacture and teachers for the students they educate,” said BMW spokesperson Max Metcalf.

Tate is the second Northwestern High teacher to represent South Carolina’s nearly 50,000 teachers as State Teacher of the Year in recent years. Bryan Coburn, a pre-engineering, computer programming and business teacher at the York School District 3 school, won the honor in 2009, along with a BMW X5. The South Carolina Teacher of the Year will participate in a yearlong residency at the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. Along with the use of the BMW X3 for one year, she receives a $25,000 cash award, a set of Michelin tires and a ring from Jostens. In addition, she will participate in Leadership South Carolina, attend Notre Dame’s prestigious three-day Excellence in Teaching Symposium and receive a SMART board.

Patti Tate succeeds Kelly Nalley, a Spanish teacher from Fork Shoals School in Greenville County. Tate earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in English/Education from Converse College. She holds National Board and International Baccalaureate certification.

BMW Manufacturing Co.BMW Manufacturing Co. is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany and is the global producer of the BMW X3 and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupe. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit www.bmwusfactory.com.

BMW Group In AmericaBMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 138 BMW motorcycle retailers, 103 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.